


the sun will rise (doesn't matter if you closed your eyes)

by biochemprincess



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Andrew Garner/Melinda May - Freeform, Background Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 21:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4892389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biochemprincess/pseuds/biochemprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a myth, passed down from one generation to another, in a futile attempt to lessen the fear of letting go, of releasing the grasp on the young ones, when they open their wings to fly. </p><p>They don't know what it means to watch them try to fly with broken wings.</p><p>They don't know what it means to watch them fall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the sun will rise (doesn't matter if you closed your eyes)

 

* * *

 

_a mother knows when something is wrong._

It's a myth, passed down from one generation to another, in a futile attempt to lessen the fear of letting go, of releasing the grasp on the young ones, when they open their wings to fly.

It's a myth, the feeling in your gut, when all you want to do is run and hold them back at their wrists, shielding them from any danger, because it should be your body that bleeds and not theirs.

It's a myth, that's not a myth, because she can feel the pull in her heart, a compass needle pointing north at the dark clouds of danger on the sky above and the air heavy with the promise of doom.

(But it is a myth, when they say only mothers know.

Because she might not be her flesh and blood and she might not be her kid, but she is one of her kids and that's more than enough.

Blood is thicker that water, they say, when they should say, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

They don't know what it means to watch them try to fly with broken wings.

They don't know what it means to watch them fall.)

 

-

 

Melinda May knows.

She _knows_.

 

-

 

She leaves and she knows something is wrong.

They go away, far away, south and south, until they find beaches with sand so white it blinds their eyes and turquoise water, straight out of a holiday brochure.

The sun sets low on the horizon and there's a certain magic to it, standing in the orange golden glow, overlooking the great ocean ahead of her and not seeing it from far above for the first time in a long while.

She stands there and listens to the movement of the water, cold against her toes.

The waves crush at the shore and they speak a foreign language May doesn't understand. But she knows the sea tries to share a secret with her. The feeling of dread doesn't leave her and tension rises higher inside her, like the flood.

She has to listen better.

 

-

 

It takes four days until Andrew shoves a phone into her hands.

"Call them."

She doesn't ask him how he knows there's something eating at her. After all these years spent apart, there's still a connection, a bond left.

(It's more than a little battered, more than a little broken, but it's still - there. A seed that could grow again, under the right circumstances.)

She takes the cell with gentle hands and a warm smile.

They'd laugh at her and tell her to stop worrying. That's what she expects.

 

-

 

May calls.

Nobody answers.

 

-

 

"No, everything's alright." Skye says, and May knows, that she is being lied to. It's the feeling in her gut deciding for her, this instinct as old as life itself, deeply ingrained inside her. It's loud and wild, like a lion's roar.

There's fear in the girl's voice, laced through those words that aren't hers in the first place. They reek of orders, of Director Coulson, and she'd talk some sense into the man if she weren't so far away.

"Please believe me." Skye adds, more for herself than for anybody else it seems. If she believes it herself, it might come true. For both of them.

May remains silent.

"Alright."

The call ends and they both know they don't believe each others lies.

They can't change it anyway.

 

-

 

May calls Jemma's mobile phone.

It goes to voice mail immediately.

 

-

 

She knows.

The feeling in her gut turns into something else, something far more violent. It has claws and needle - sharp teeth to protect, to fight. The feeling turns into a monster and it takes her along with it.

 

-

 

Bobbi hesitates at first, but gives in in the end. Fitz tells her too, at the edge of insanity and far beyond a canyon of grief. They share a phone in the silence of the hospital ward at night.

"What do we know about the stone?" May asks, again, too often to count.

"Nothing."

"Lincoln says it's deadly."

"For the Inhumans." Fitz interrupts, offended by Bobbi's implication. May doesn't know how often you can watch somebody disappear until you lose your mind, but she's sure she's about to find out in the near future.

"We'll find her." May says.

"I'll find her.", is what she really means.

 

-

 

"You don't have to come with me."

"This is important to you."

May stops packing her suitcase and turns to face him.

How can she make him understand that this might be the most important task she has ever done in her life? How can words the describe the unconditional affection she feels towards these kids and above all else, this girl? How can she make it clear, that she has to save Jemma Simmons, because history is not allowed to repeat itself and there's nobody in the world, nobody in the universe, who deserves saving and salvation more than Jemma Simmons?

She doesn't say, _I'm not allowed to fail again._

She doesn't say, _This is my fault._

So she says instead, She's mine to protect. I'll bring her home.

 

-

 

They drive until the gas almost runs out.

They drive until their eyes almost fall shut.

They drive until May doesn't have any favours to call in anymore.

They drive until they finally have a destination to reach.

 

-

 

Natasha's secrets have secrets, so she doesn't question the tip she receives from her or the source behind it.

_A stone, a museum, a folklore tale about blue angels._

It's the most specific location she'll get and it's the most promising one, so this is where they go.

They spy out the museum beforehand, just a simple couple on vacation trying to enjoy some culture on a warm day. It's a small institution and the stone is their most prized possession.  

The monolith in front of her looks exactly the same as the one at the Playground. The shiny surface seems solid to the unaware passer-by, but May knows better. She knows what lies beneath. They exhibit it in a showcase of glass, which might be the only reason, there hasn't been an incident yet.

The museum tour guide says something about mystery and forgotten civilizations, but May knows there's nothing forgotten about those who made this stone. They might not be present anymore, but they're not gone. 

They leave just before the doors close.

She'll come back later anyway.

 

-

 

"Are you angry?"

"That you're putting your life in danger once again instead of vacationing?" Andrew laughs, but it's not bitter, only kind. "No. Feels like old times."

She lets out a laugh herself.

"Melinda?"

"Yes?"

"Do good and bring her back. But come home safe."

"I will."

She doesn't specify, which part of her promise she'll keep.

 

-

 

May breaks in alone. In spite of everything, this is something she has to do alone. This is her duty, her obligation, her fight.

The alarm doesn't go off when she smashes the window.

The alarm does go off when she smashes the showcase and lets herself be swallowed whole by the alien material.

Minutes later a confused security guard finds nothing but an empty museum and broken glass.

There's no sign of life.

 

-

 

Nothing.

Her hands gripping somebody's warm shoulder.

Another human. Small and injured and a little worn out.

But also: Alive. Breathing. Existing. A Constellation Of Atoms And Stars. Alive.

"Simmons?"

"Yes."

 

-

 

She brings her home.

 

-

 

It's a myth, they say, but the thing is: Some myths are true.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been working on this for a few days now, and it turned out very different from what I've intended it to be (and a lot shorter), but I think I like it this way and I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think about it. You can also find me @ mightyjemma.tumblr.com :)


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